Xabi Hernandez (41, Spain), former Qatari professional soccer coach Al Sadd, has been appointed as the new manager of FC Barcelona, a prestigious Spanish professional football club.
Barcelona announced that "Xabi has been appointed as the new manager" and that "the contract period is for the remainder of the 2021-2022 season and two seasons thereafter."
Barcelona, where Lionel Messi (Argentina), who was the team's signature, transferred to Paris Saint-Germain ahead of this season, are in the ninth place (4 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses) out of 20 clubs in the La Liga for the 2021-2022 season.
Barcelona, which fired manager Ronald Koeman (58, Holland) at the end of last month, were looking for a replacement, and Xavi has been mentioned as a strong candidate.
Xabi, who has been in charge of Al Sadd since 2019, still has two years left on his contract with Al Sadd, but the contract issue between Al Sadd and Barcelona has been resolved and the team has to be moved.
Xavi has been playing for the Barcelona youth team since 1991 when he was 11 years old, and his career as a player was only at Barcelona until 2015.
He then moved to Al Sadd until 2019, where he spent the last years of his active career.
Xavi is a 'Legend of Barcelona' who played 767 matches for Barcelona during his active career and won 25 leagues and competitions.
After Messi (778 matches), Xavi is the second player to appear in the most matches for Barcelona.
He was also a famous midfielder in Spain's national team, appearing in 133 matches in A-match from 2000 to 2014.
He started his coaching career as manager Al Sadd in 2019, and this year alone, he has demonstrated his leadership by winning the Qatar Stars League, Qatar Cup, and Emir Cup three times.
Xavi will travel to Spain this weekend to hold his inaugural press conference on the 8th.
Barcelona's managerial debut is expected to be against Espanyol on the 21st.
(Photo = FC Barcelona social media photo, Yonhap News)